Webinar: Refugees Jobs Agenda: Kick-Starting Employer Action

May 08, 2017

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The magnitude of the global refugee crisis has left many wondering: how can I help? While an outpouring of support greeted Syrian refugees to Canada, Toronto business leaders quickly registered that there was no clearly defined response to help refugees find meaningful employment. This was the catalyst for convening the Syrian Refugees Jobs Agenda Roundtable. In December 2015, Hire Immigrants sat down with former executive director, Senator Ratna Omidvar, and stakeholders from across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area – employers, government representatives and non-profit organizations – to focus on identifying employment opportunities for Syrian newcomers and how to match refugee talent to the needs of employers.

Join Devon Franklin, Project Manager of Hire Immigrants (Toronto, CA) in a conversation with Jasmine Ateia, Division Manager, Labour Market Integration for Refugees, City of Freiburg (Germany), to discuss lessons learned from the Syrian Refugees Jobs Agenda Roundtable after its first year: getting started, who was at the table, practical strategies for refugee employment and how to strengthen private sector engagement in the global refugee crisis.

This webinar is part of Refugees Jobs Agenda: a webinar series exploring refugees and labour market integration hosted by Hire Immigrants, Cities of Migration and Bertelsmann Stiftung

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Speakers

Devon Franklin, Project Manager, Hire Immigrants

Devon is the Project Manager of Hire Immigrants, a program at the Global Diversity Exchange (GDX), a ‘think-and-do’ tank based at Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada). Hire Immigrants is an online platform for employers to find and share good practices on immigrant employment and a network hub for increased awareness of the valuable skills and talent immigrants bring to local and global businesses. Hire Immigrants is unique in its approach to immigrant employment: by focusing on the role of employers and drivers of business performance, we help identify outdated HR practices in hiring, recruitment and development, and empower employers to fully leverage immigrant talent in their workforce.

Previously, Devon has worked in healthcare and community settings on finding solutions to pervasive employment challenges. At Humber River Hospital Devon developed volunteer programs directed at students and foreign trained professionals to help navigate careers in the healthcare sector. Devon has worked with community organizations across Canada on a national leadership project funded by the Status Women Canada to support the development of women in vulnerable populations succeed in employment. Devon holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto and a Master of Arts in Immigration and Settlement Studies from Ryerson University.

Jasmin Ateia manages the municipal work with refugees in the areas of labor market integration for the City of Freiburg’s Department of Migration & Integration. Previously, she was the Project Manager for the Welcome Centre for International Professionals in Freiburg, which helps international professionals who want to work and live in the region and acts as a central point of contact for companies that want to hire international specialists and integrate them into their workforce. Jasmin has also worked for International exchange programs and affairs in universities in Bonn, Germany and Cairo, Egypt. She holds a MA in Middle Eastern Studies and European Anthropology from the University of Freiburg.

Refugees Jobs Agenda Webinar Series

This webinar is part of Refugees Jobs Agenda: a webinar series exploring refugees and labour market integration hosted by Hire Immigrants, Cities of Migration and Bertelsmann Stiftung